A seven-person jury representing the Jewish Community of Bologna, Italy, has chosen Rome-based SET Architects as the winner of a competition to design a Holocaust memorial in Bologna.
According to a posting on Facebook, the jury evaluated 284 entries, which were whittled down to five finalists. The jury reconvened at the Bologna Association of Architects offices on June 29 to chose the winning design, which is called Shoah Memorial.
ArchDaily reports that the design—which is dominated by two large metal monolithic structures (10x10-meter, or around 33x33 feet, according to SET’s entry)—is a representation of oppressive wooden bunks in concentration camps in Germany during World War II. The blocks are trapedzoidal, with the small sides 1.3-meters and 1.8 meters respectively.
To create a sense of claustrophobia and imprisonment, the space separating the two structures starts at 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) and narrows to 50 centimeters (1.6 feet).
The stone and metallic paving that surrounds the structures is designed to evoke the railways used to transport Jews to the camps. The structures will also amplify outside sounds that are meant to accentuate a sense of anguish.
The memorial will be placed within a new square, located near a high-speed train station. “It is important to understand the relationship with the urban context,” SET states in its submission. “The result is an area which is not designed for any specific functions, inclined to a new identify yet to be shaped and opened to the passage of people.”
SET Architects’ team members on this entry are Onorato di Manno, Andrea Tanci, Gianluca Sist, Lorenzo Catena, and Chiara Cucina. An exhibition will display the project’s details at an awards presentation on September 6. The memorial will be inaugurated on January 27, 2016.
The Jewish Community of Bologna has set memorial project’s budget at 120,000 Euros (about US $169,000).
Related Stories
| Jun 18, 2014
Study shows walkable urbanism has positive economic impact
Walkable communities have a higher GDP, greater wealth, and higher percentages of college grads, according to a new study by George Washington University.
| Jun 18, 2014
Arup uses 3D printing to fabricate one-of-a-kind structural steel components
The firm's research shows that 3D printing has the potential to reduce costs, cut waste, and slash the carbon footprint of the construction sector.
| Jun 16, 2014
6 U.S. cities at the forefront of innovation districts
A new Brookings Institution study records the emergence of “competitive places that are also cool spaces.”
| Jun 13, 2014
First look: BIG's spiraling museum for watchmaker Audemars Piguet
The glass-and-steel pavilion's spiral structure acts as a storytelling device for the company's history.
| Jun 12, 2014
Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects' design selected for new UCSC facility
The planned site is a natural landscape among redwood trees with views over Monterey Bay, a site that the architects have called “one of the most beautiful they have ever worked on.”
| Jun 12, 2014
Austrian university develops 'inflatable' concrete dome method
Constructing a concrete dome is a costly process, but this may change soon. A team from the Vienna University of Technology has developed a method that allows concrete domes to form with the use of air and steel cables instead of expensive, timber supporting structures.
| Jun 11, 2014
David Adjaye’s housing project in Sugar Hill nears completion
A new development in New York's historic Sugar Hill district nears completion, designed to be an icon for the neighborhood's rich history.
| Jun 9, 2014
Green Building Initiative launches Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors program
The new program focuses exclusively on the sustainable design and construction of interior spaces in nonresidential buildings and can be pursued by both building owners and individual lessees of commercial spaces.
| Jun 4, 2014
Want to design a Guggenheim? Foundation launches open competition for proposed Helsinki museum
This is the first time the Guggenheim Foundation has sought a design through an open competition. Anonymous submissions for stage one of the competition are due September 10, 2014.
| Jun 4, 2014
Construction team named for Atlanta Braves ballpark
A joint venture between Barton Malow, Brasfield & Gorrie, Mortenson Construction, and New South Construction will build the Atlanta Braves ballpark, which is scheduled to open in early 2017. Check out the latest renderings of the plan.
